Gerard P. Craughwell: Ministers Absent at Naval Commissioning

Go raibh maith agat, Cathaoirleach. It's an honour for me to use my time today to extend my congratulations to the 64th Naval Cadet Class on their commissioning into the Irish Naval Service. Their commissioning should be a moment of unambiguous pride for them, their families and the state they have chosen to serve. They have completed their demanded training, demonstrated discipline and leadership and earned their place among the officers of Báilín na hÉireann. Each has now joined the service with a proud and hard-earned reputation for professionalism, sacrifice and excellence in protecting Ireland's maritime interests. But this occasion is overshadowed unavoidably and insignificantly by the failure of leadership from the highest levels of government. It is simply unacceptable that not one minister, not even the Minister of State of the 38 available, was present to officiate at the commissioning of new officers into the Naval Service. I will remind colleagues that this is not a minor diary clash or an administrative oversight. It is a profound signal of disregard for the state's most loyal servants. The commissioning of officers is the cornerstone moment in the life of the Defence Forces. It represents the state's formally entrusting its citizens with authority, responsibility and, if necessary, the use of force in its name. To treat such an occasion as unworthy of ministerial presence is to diminish the trust. Even more troubling is what replaced that absence. The decision to have the Secretary General of the Department of Defence, a civil servant, however reputable, take the salute from newly commissioned officers before handing them their commission represents a deeply inappropriate blurring of roles. Let's be clear. Civilian oversight of military is essential in any democracy, but oversight is not ceremony and governance is not command. Ceremonial acts such as the receiving of a salute carry profound symbolic meaning. The salute is an expression of the officer's respect for the state's authority exercised through its elected leadership and its properly constituted military chain of command. For a civil servant, however senior, to assume the role is not just irregular, it is wrong. It sends a confused and troubling message about hierarchy, authority, respect and a place in the Defence Forces within our nation's life. It matters because symbols shape culture. It matters because men and women standing commissioned deserve to see clear and without ambiguity that their service is recognised at the highest levels of the state. It further matters because erosion of standards, whether ceremonial or substantive, rarely stops where they begin. Let me be absolutely clear. The failures that have occurred during the commissioning I'm adverting to are not the responsibility of the newly commissioned officers. They belong entirely to those who should have known better and done better, essentially the Restored Government and the responsible Minister. The 64th Naval Cadet Class, I say to them in their achievement, remain significant. Their commitment remains admirable and their future responsibilities remain vital. As commissioned officers of the Irish Naval Service, each will carry the honour of a proud Naval Service forward, regardless of its shortcomings I've already adverted to. I call on each officer to serve with integrity, lead with courage, demand the standards from others that you have already demanded of yourselves. Above all, never forget the value of the uniform you now wear, even if others have failed to show that they understand its true value. Perhaps we would have a Minister in at some stage to explain such a despicable snub.